1 of 2 | Seen is a picture included in the Justice Department indictment of a note that was taped to the door of John Doe's New Jersey home as part of a conspiracy to force this repatriation to China. The note reads, "If you are willing to go back to the mainland and spend 10 years in prison, your wife and children will be all right. That's the end of this matter!" Photo courtesy of Justice Department
June 21 (UPI) -- A federal jury in the United States has convicted three people, including a retired New York City police sergeant, for their role in a sprawling campaign directed by China to force the repatriation of U.S. residents.
The convictions were handed down Tuesday by a Brooklyn, N.Y., jury following a three-week trial during which evidence and testimony detailed the multiyear international plot that began in 2016 to force a man, identified as John Doe, to return to China where government officials had accused him of corruption-related charges.
Defendants Michael McMahon, 55; Zheng Congying, 27; and Zhu Yong, 66, were convicted of conspiracy to commit interstate stalking and interstate stalking, while McMahon and Zhu were also convicted of being illegal Chinese agents and Zhu was additionally found guilty of conspiracy to act as an illegal agent of China.
"We will remain steadfast in exposing and undermining efforts by the Chinese government to reach across our border and perpetrate transnational repression schemes targeting victims in the Untied States in violation of our laws," U.S. Attorney Breon Peace for the Eastern District of New York said in a statement Tuesday.
Prosecutors accused the trio of working with others as part of Operation Fox Hunt, a Chinese Ministry of Public Security initiative to find and repatriate Chinese nationals Beijing has accused of violating its laws and have fled to foreign countries.
Between 2016 and 2019, China attempted to force the repatriation of John Doe on accusations he had committed embezzlement, abuse of power and accepted brings, which can be punished by death.
Prosecutors said Zhu had hired McMahon to investigate and surveil the target and his family, obtaining information via government databases that he relayed back to Zhu and others including a Chinese police officer.
Following months of investigative work by McMahon, the conspirators in April 2017 arranged to transport John Doe's father from China to the New Jersey home of the target's sister-in-law to force his son's repatriation via psychological coercion.
Prosecutors had said in the indictment that the father was instructed to inform his son that if he didn't return with him, their China-based family "would suffer serious harm, including imprisonment."
During the visit, a co-conspirator surveilled the home with night-vision goggles and McMahon tailed John Doe following the meeting back to the target's home, which was previously unknown to the Chinese handlers.
Prosectors also said that on Sept. 4, 2018, Zheng drove to John Doe's New Jersey residence and pounded on his front door, which he and another co-conspirator had tried to force open.
They then left a note for John Doe that read: "If you are willing to go back to the mainland and spend 10 years in prison, your wife and children will be all right. That's the end of this matter!"
McMahon faces up to 20 years in prison, Zhu 25 years and Zheng 10 years.
Three other defendants have already pleaded guilty in the scheme while three others remain fugitives.
"The defendants engaged in a campaign of harassment and coercion on behalf of the PRC to force the victim's repatriation to China from the United States, including by threatening family members," Assistant Attorney General Matthew Olsen of the Justice Department's National Security Division said in a statement, while referring to China by the initials of its official name, the People's Republic of China
"The Department of Justice will hold accountable those who would help repressive regimes violate the fundamental freedoms of people in the United States."
